Sneaker of the month August: Jordan 1 Retro
21.8.2017
Translation: machine translated
There's a story behind every shoe and our sneakerhead "ogmike" knows them all. A fairytale lesson on the "Jordan 1" from Nike.
Back in 1984, when Michael Jordan wore the first Air Jordan shoe from Nike in the pre-season, all eyes were on his black and red shoes. The NBA later intervened and banned the Jordans from the league because the rule stated that the basketball shoes had to be 51% white. Nike would have had to pay a fine of 5,000 US dollars per game if Michael Jordan had worn them in public. Thus the nickname "Banned" was born. It wasn't until the 1985 Slam Dunk Contest that Michael Jordan was able to wear the "Breds" (black/red) for the first time at an official event in front of an audience. The NBA later changed the 51% rule and all colours were permitted.
Since then, countless colour variants and shapes of the Jordan 1 have been launched by Nike. Nobody really knows exactly how many there are. Probably not even Nike itself. Regardless of whether it's a classic or, as I'm wearing them in the pictures, a black and grey Rare Air colourway - these high-top shoes are simply timeless. They go well with jeans or shorts and thanks to the integrated air cushion, they are also very comfortable to wear. Style icons such as Kanye West and Asap Rocky love the Jordan 1.
When the Jordan 1 was launched in 1985, I had no idea about sneakers and was still busy with Transformers robots. It wasn't until nine years later that I saw the model for the first time in a New York shoe shop. However, it wasn't the original from 1985 but the retro edition. Or rather, the first ever retro release from Nike. I found the price of 100 US dollars plus tax too expensive and opted for a different model, which I later bitterly regretted. In 2004, I bought the same model on eBay and paid seven times the price at the time. The original colourways that MJ wore at the NBA games still fetch a lot of money on reseller platforms, even as retro versions, as the shoes are sold out immediately on sale when they are released. Limited versions are currently being traded for up to 13,000 dollars on relevant websites.
The funny thing is that Michael Jordan didn't like the Air Jordans 1 at first. It was only with the Jordan 3 design that Nike was able to persuade the athlete not to switch to Adidas. MJ later changed his mind about the ones. The rest is history.
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I am a passionate sneakerhead, reseller, Nintendo fanboy, bokeh fanatic, avowed otaku and last but not least a proud father who celebrates the 90s as what they were: by far the best years.
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